The Swedish Language in Parliament

The plan contains no commitment to preserve or strengthen the special character of the Swedish language. On the contrary, the party programme is critical of national identity projects that divide people and instead emphasizes indigenous peoples' and national minorities' rights to language and cultural heritage, while the election manifesto stresses arm's length distance between politics and content. The counter-proposal's demand for special policy documents for the language's special character therefore has no support in the closest related principle.

• criticism of national distinctivenessdecisive»Med nationalstaternas framväxt skapades starka identiteter som delade upp människor i olika folk.« (party programme ↗)“With the rise of nation states, strong identities were created that divided people into different peoples.”
• minorities' language rights»de nationella minoriteternas rättigheter till identitet, språk, kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“national minorities' rights to identity, language, cultural heritage”
• arm's length distance from content»Politiken ska skapa förutsättningar för en bred kultur som kommer alla till del och hålla armlängds avstånd till innehållet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Politics must create conditions for broad culture that benefits everyone and maintain arm's length distance from content.”

The plan says nothing about governing documents for the Riksdag's language use. Closest lies the election manifesto's emphasis on good Swedish in public operations and the party programme's requirement that the democratic process and public administration are built on openness and transparency, which presupposes comprehensible Swedish language. From this the plan gives weak support for the counter-proposal, but the programme's commitment to national minorities' languages counsels caution.

• good Swedish in public operationsdecisive»Genom språkkrav och utbildningsinsatser vill vi säkerställa att alla som jobbar i välfärden talar god svenska.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Through language requirements and education measures we want to ensure that everyone working in welfare speaks good Swedish.”
• openness and transparency»Den demokratiska processen och samhällsförvaltningen måste bygga på offentlighet och« (party programme ↗)“The democratic process and public administration must be built on openness and”
• minority languages shall be valued»I detta ska också ingå att hävda och stödja nationella minoriteters möjligheter att« (party programme ↗)“In this shall also be included defending and supporting national minorities' opportunities to”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan has no language policy commitment to Swedish's particular character. The nearest principles point in the opposite direction: multilingualism is seen as a resource, different cultures shall be able to coexist and minority languages' position shall be strengthened, which speaks against special policy documents to value Swedish's character against English influence. The plan values easily accessible information, however, so the position is uncertain.

• multilingualism as a resourcedecisive»Andra modersmål än svenska ska ses som fördelar och som resurser för den enskilda elevens lärande.« (party programme ↗)“Other native languages than Swedish shall be seen as advantages and as resources for the individual pupil's learning.”
• cultural coexistence»Vi bejakar att olika idéer och kulturer kan samexistera och influera varandra i ett och samma samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“We welcome that different ideas and cultures can coexist and influence each other in one and the same society.”
• minority languages' position»Deras särskilda ställning, med egen kultur och eget språk, måste respekteras och stärkas.« (party programme ↗)“Their particular position, with their own culture and their own language, must be respected and strengthened.”
• easily accessible information»En deltagande demokrati kräver lättillgänglig information, en levande politisk debatt« (party programme ↗)“A participatory democracy requires easily accessible information, a lively political debate”

The plan says nothing about language policy documents. The closest underlying principles are that openness to the world is the foundation for our prosperity, that effective measures should be prioritized over symbolism and that politics should not act as arbiter of culture and language. Special policy documents to protect the distinctiveness of Swedish do not follow from these principles. The conclusion is uncertain.

• effective measures over symbolismdecisive»Ett ledarskap som prioriterar effektiva åtgärder framför symbolpolitik eller passivitet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“A leadership that prioritizes effective measures over symbolism or passivity.”
• openness to the world»Ett öppet land, en öppen attityd till andra och till varandra, utgör grunden för vårt ekonomiska välstånd och« (party programme ↗)“An open country, an open attitude to others and to one another, forms the foundation for our economic prosperity and”
• politics not arbiter»Skaparglädje frodas i frihet. Politiken ska akta sig för att agera smakdomare och diktera kulturens innehåll.« (party programme ↗)“Creativity flourishes in freedom. Politics must refrain from acting as arbiter and dictating the content of culture.”
• minority languages' status»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning, och grundlagsskydda rätten till abort och reproduktiv hälsa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen, among other things, property rights, the anti-discrimination rule, minority protection and minority languages' status, and constitutionally protect the right to abortion and reproductive health.”

The party programme establishes that what counts as Swedish is not static and that the knowledge of this gives security in the meeting with new influences, and that language skills become ever more important in an open world and that higher education shall be marked by internationalisation. Particular control documents that should protect the Swedish language's character against English influence do not lie in that direction. The plan simultaneously establishes that Swedish is and shall be the society-bearing language, which makes the conclusion uncertain.

• Swedishness is changeabledecisive»Vad som räknas som svenskt är inte statiskt.« (party programme ↗)“What counts as Swedish is not static.”
• language skills in an open world»Språkkunskaper blir allt viktigare i en öppen värld.« (party programme ↗)“Language skills become ever more important in an open world.”
• internationalisation»högre utbildning ska konkurrera på den internationella utbildningsmarknaden« (party programme ↗)“higher education shall compete on the international education market”
• Swedish as society-bearing language»Svenska är och ska vara det samhällsbärande språket.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish is and shall be the society-bearing language.”

The plan counts the Swedish language as part of stewardship responsibility and wants its position as the majority language to be constitutionally protected, and that respect for national culture and indigenous languages is guaranteed. Special guidance documents for internal and external communication that safeguard Swedish's special character follow from this stewardship. The plan also requires that communication with citizens is comprehensible.

• Swedish language position protecteddecisive»det svenska språket, vars ställning som majoritetsspråk bör vara grundlagsskyddat.« (party programme ↗)“the Swedish language, whose position as majority language should be constitutionally protected.”
• national culture and languages guaranteed»att respekten för nationell kultur och inhemska språk« (party programme ↗)“that respect for national culture and indigenous languages”
• preserve cultural heritage»En god kulturpolitik måste sträva efter att ta tillvara det värdefulla kulturella arv« (party programme ↗)“A good cultural policy must strive to preserve the valuable cultural heritage”
• comprehensible communication with citizens»Beslutsprocessen måste vara överblickbar för medborgarna och därmed ge möjlighet att utkräva ansvar.« (party programme ↗)“The decision process must be comprehensible to citizens and thus provide the opportunity to hold accountable.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The documents say nothing about parliament's internal communication or the influence of English. The nearest commitments are that the Swedish language is given a strong position – language requirements in care and nursing and that all children should learn good Swedish early – and that the party values the continuity that Swedish culture and history constitute. This speaks weakly in favour of the counter-proposal's demand for guidelines for the Swedish language; the basis is thin.

• the position of the Swedish languagedecisive»Införa språkkrav för personal inom vård och äldreomsorg« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce language requirements for staff in care and nursing”
• the Swedish language is prioritised»Där alla barn får lära sig bra svenska tidigt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Where all children get to learn good Swedish early.”
• national continuity»Moderaterna värdesätter den kontinuitet som Sverige« (party programme ↗)“The Moderate Party values the continuity that Sweden”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto wants to protect, nurture and showcase Swedish culture and create cohesion around Swedish culture and national identity, and the party programme defines the nation among other things through the common language. Special steering documents to preserve and strengthen the Swedish language's character in the Riksdag's internal and external communication align with that commitment. The plan also explicitly prioritizes the Swedish language within publicly funded activities.

• protect Swedish culturedecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill värna, vårda och visa svensk kultur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats wants to protect, nurture and showcase Swedish culture.”
• common language defines the nation»identitet, gemensamt språk och gemensam kultur« (party programme ↗)“identity, common language and common culture”
• cohesion around Swedish culture»Skapa sammanhållning kring den svenska kulturen och den nationella identiteten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create cohesion around Swedish culture and national identity”
• prioritize the Swedish language»Prioritera svenska språket inom barnomsorgen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prioritize the Swedish language in childcare”